Marcy S., age 16, Tennessee

June 21, 1941location: North CarolinaAge at Writing: 16

Dear Diary — First day of summer. Ah! Worked in morning. Then washed hair. Daddy came for dinner. He brought a letter from one of Mrs. Stevens’s boy’s in the army in the Canal Zone. Also one from Mrs. Glass in England, with a clipping enclosed describing the funeral of Miss Betty Glass, her daughter. Isn’t that awful, dear Diary? She died in April of a heart attack. Mrs. Glass is broken-hearted; she said that my letter arrived four days after the burial. I didn’t cry but I felt very badly.

We lingered long at the table and discussed many things, one of which was the fact that Jack Wendell had said last summer that he didn’t owe his country anything. Huh! I’d like to tell Sir Jack a thing or two. Daddy says Prof was that way, too, and that they had gotten the horrid idea at school. Somebody ought to be hung! All of our relatives up there are isolationists.

I washed the dishes with vinegar, imagining all the stinging, reproachable things I could say to Jack and Prof. I felt better then and sat out on the porch and finished my purse. Then I called Mary and we decided to invite Ruth to go tomorrow. So I called her, but she wasn’t sure whether they were going away tomorrow or not. Said she’d call later. I then read “Jo’s Boys.” Sweet. Rufus called to say she could go tomorrow (!) and she invited me to go to the show with her tonight while her parents went out to play bridge. Mom and Dad consented and I was so hap-hap-happy!

Studied Sunday School lesson and helped Mother. After supper I fixed my curlers under a turban as best I could and at about 7:30 got down to Ruth’s. We listened to part of the Hit Parade and reached the Princess at 10 till 8:00 just when the show was starting. The clock showed it wouldn’t be out till 11:00. Ruth bought some popcorn and since the theater was crowded, we stood up at the back. It was fun. Saw a thrilling serial — Chapter Two. Then Gene Autry in “Melody Range.” It was good. We finally got a seat. At 9:30 the second feature started. Kay Francis in “Play Girl.”

At about ten after 10:00 I went outside to call Mother and tell her what time we would be out, but there was Daddy sitting in the car, waiting for us. Arguing and pleading did no good so I returned to the theater and told Ruth the bad news but she didn’t mind especially. Daddy left her off at the Quinns’ where a bridge game was in progress. Mother didn’t fuss a bit when I got home. I was in a very good mood.

While I was preparing for bed, we heard on the radio that Germany had declared war on Russia! What next?

To bed tired but happily expectant for tomorrow. The last thing I heard was Daddy saying he thought it would rain tomorrow.